Win me!

To enter the drawing for a pair of size 7 Switchflops in brown (pictured above), along with a bunch of other foot goodies, e-mail me .
Be sure to include your name, mailing address and telephone number. The winner will be announced in the May 31 ShopGirl column.

Beauty fanatics should visit the ShopBlog all week, because, starting Tuesday, I'll post my favorite polish picks for spring and summer.

Good luck with the contest and, as always, happy shopping!

Don't let the frost fool you -- spring is in the air. And since the first weekend of May is the unofficial opening date for local greenhouses, it's time to get growing.

Bagley's Greenhouse on Stillwater Avenue in Orono is open, but reports that most of the plants won't be out until sometime next week, due to the threat of cold temperatures.

Sue Keating of Sweet Pea Gardens in Surry urges gardeners to start their sweet peas now if they haven't already. Need supplies? She's got 'em. Visit Sweet Pea Gardens for more information.

If gardening isn't your thing but floral prints are, visit Cottage Consignment on Route 1 in Rockport, which recently reopened for the season. At the top of my wish list? This gorgeous dress by Betsey Johnson:

Is there anything less exciting than shopping for a bathing suit when you're pale and carrying an extra five pounds of winter weight?

We didn't think so.

Marden's has come to the rescue. The Brewer store now has an amazing selection of one- and two-piece swimsuits for $14.99 and $24.99.

Prices like that won't make the trip to the fitting room any more pleasant, but they sure do make bathing suit shopping a lot less painful.

This time of year, your heels look like birch bark. Well, if birch bark had calluses.

What's a sandal-loving person to do? Buy one of Microplane's foot tools. Brought to you by the same company responsible for those fabulous, razor-sharp cheese graters, the foot version lives up to Microplane's reputation.

Unlike the usual suspects -- pumice stones, scrubbie sponges, foot peelers -- you use the tools on dry skin. And the results are fabulous.

I know, it sounds dangerous. But trust me, I've tried it, and if I didn't hurt myself, you certainly won't.

In other words, your (birch) bark is much worse than its bite.

Suggested retail price is $19.95-$21.95, depending on which model you choose. Visit HTML Tutorial for information.

So, you're hell on wheels.

Well, just because you can't keep a bicycle upright doesn't mean you can't join in the fun.

Trust me. The goodies from Resource Revival will more than make up for your lack of balance and/or tendency to crash into things at high speeds. The Oregon-based company was founded in 1994 by Graham Bergh. As the story goes, he busted a bicycle tire on his way to work, used the inner tube as a cradle for his speakers, and parlayed his yen for recycling into a very cool business. Visit Resource Revival for the full tale -- and the full line.

I'm partial to the bottle openers -- and the $14 price tag can't be beat. But you know what the best part is? No helmet required.

Regular readers of the ShopGirl column already know about these, but because people often stop me in the grocery store to ask where I got them, I figured it was time for a blog entry on Baggu. Especially since it's Earth Week.

I discovered these reusable nylon grocery bags, which fold into a 5-by-5-inch packet, at Metropolitan Soul in Bangor (992-4147). They cost $6 each. Plus, they're way better than the totes you'll find at your local grocery store because they are tiny enough to stash in your back pocket.

They come in a rainbow of colors, and, when unfolded, they hold the equivalent of two to three plastic bags.

Reduce, reuse, recycle? It's in the bag.

Grow you own -- vegetables and flowers, that is -- in eco-style.

Made from recycled cans, this watering can from Patina is just the thing for eco-friendly gardeners. It's available at Patinastores.com. While you're there, check out Patina's other cool gear, such as the floral water bottle (beats throwing all those plastic water bottles into a landfill, right?)

Note: This is part of ShopBlog's weeklong celebration of Earth Day.

Next time the checkout gal asks, "Paper or plastic?" you can answer: "How about fantastic?" Because fantastic is the only way to describe this canvas bag from Target.

At $9.99, it's affordable enough to buy a few, so you'll be able tote all your groceries in style.

What better way to bring home the bacon?

These days, it's easy being green. And stylish, too.

In honor of Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22), the ShopBlog will host a weeklong celebration of favorite "green" items. Why blog, you may ask? Well, it's paper-free, of course!

Today's cool items, his and hers key rings made of recycled milk jugs, comes from Zanisa.com, an online retailer that specializes in sustainable yet elegant gifts. Think Red Envelope -- only green.

I'm a fan of the jewelry -- the pottery-shard bracelet below is on my wish list. But at $6, you can't go wrong with the key chains -- unless they're holding the keys to a tank-size SUV.

Admit it: You're as addicted to eBay as I am. You've sniped a purse at the last second -- that poor bidder from California didn't know what hit her. You've loved and lost slipcovers from Pottery Barn.

Trust me, I can relate.

Rather than offer a cure, however, I'm going to give you one more reason to continue your online shopping obsession.

Starting Wednesday, eBay stores will open voting for its standout storefronts, and Erich Kaiser of Bangor is one of the finalists. His shop, My Antique Boutique, is one of the top four shops in the "best looking" category. You can read more about it in Saturday's newspaper column, but Kaiser specializes in vintage advertising and ephemera. You can check it out at My Antique Boutique.

I especially like the French prints. They're bidder-sweet. Like I needed another excuse to haunt eBay...